Monday's letters: A bit mixed up

Published: Monday, October 22, 2012 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, October 19, 2012 at 6:01 p.m.

To the editor: I think the author of the letter “Lack of trust” (Oct. 8 edition) must be confused. His letter is against the Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan ticket, but one of the points he uses to support his distrust in this ticket is: “I can’t afford to take the word of two politicians, especially if they have served in our present Senate or House.”

Since Romney is a retired businessman and former state governor and Ryan is a young congressman, the letter writer appears to more accurately refer to the Barack Obama/Joe Biden ticket. It consists of career politician Obama who was a senator when he ran for president in 2008, and Biden who has been a senator for 37 years — one of the longest-serving senators in U.S. history!

Julie Gooden

Hendersonville

Deep contempt

To the editor: Impoverished children getting lunch at school. Disabled veterans receiving pensions. Needy students getting federally subsidized loans to attend college. Seniors on Medicare. These are the “freeloaders” Mitt Romney wants to jettison so that millionaires like himself can pay even lower taxes!

Rob from the needy, give to the greedy! Ignore the young, forget the old! Give bigger tax breaks to millionaires and big oil companies, but take away the safety net for the poor. Since when is it OK to take food away from poor children and old people to give more tax breaks to the rich?

Romney claims he’s a Christian, but his words reveal his deep, shameful contempt for the disadvantaged.

The Romneys proudly publicize their “charitable donations,” yet their 2010 tax return shows not one thin dime for anything recognizable as helping the poor or disadvantaged! They claimed “tax-deductible charitable donations” of $1.5 million to Romney’s own “charitable foundation,” $100,000 to “Friends of George W. Bush Library,” $20,000 to “U.S. Equestrian Foundation,” and $10,000 to Harvard Business School.

A victory for “Retroactive” Romney and Paul “Vouchercare” Ryan will guarantee that school budgets suffer deeper cuts, Medicare gets dismantled, and Social Security is destroyed! Vote for President Barack Obama.

Linda Harney

Flat Rock

Bear encounters

To the editor: Encounters between bears and humans rarely have happy endings.

Nature is a balancing act of survival, whether plant or animal. For animals, from ants to whales, this means eat or be eaten. Until man intervenes, the balance mostly works (i.e., with enough bats, mosquitoes are not in control; towhees and brown thrashers in my yard seriously limit the ant population, making both bird and me happy).

Cherokee and black bears thrived in our area before they were run out to make room for white settlers. The ensuing spread of housing without regard to habitat brings trouble for both wildlife and humans. As people built in what was open field or woodland then landscaped with tasty ornamentals, they railed against the deer. Presumably the same goes for blueberry bushes and bears.

When well-meaning but naïve people — within city limits even — indiscriminately feed wildlife or leave filled birdfeeders that tantalize bears getting ready to den up, the stage is set for risk and misery. One recent morning, I was stunned to witness a black bear ambling barely 15 feet from my porch where a cat lay dozing. She was, no doubt, researching neighborhood feeders. I live four minutes from Fresh Market.

Charlotte Wolf

Hendersonville

Key to success

To the editor: Hayden Rogers is a strong proponent of public education and has been endorsed by the N.C. Association of Education. He is the product of North Carolina public schools. He paid his way through college with the help of federal student aid.

Hayden knows the key to success in America is a high-quality education. Hayden supports local control of education but believes we must have federal standards to ensure that all students have the same opportunity to obtain a high-quality education.

Hayden’s opponent, Mark Meadows, believes we must eliminate the U.S. Department of Education. He said in a forum that he made the “conscious and costly decision” to keep his children out of public-funded schools because he did not want to rely on the government or allow it to influence his child’s education.

Mark’s focus is on home schooling and charter schools. While these might be options for some families, most families in Western North Carolina rely on public schools. We need an education system that benefits all children, not just a privileged few.

We need leaders who will fight for our public education system and our teachers!

<p>To the editor: I think the author of the letter Lack of trust (Oct. 8 edition) must be confused. His letter is against the Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan ticket, but one of the points he uses to support his distrust in this ticket is: I can’t afford to take the word of two politicians, especially if they have served in our present Senate or House.</p><p>Since Romney is a retired businessman and former state governor and Ryan is a young congressman, the letter writer appears to more accurately refer to the Barack Obama/Joe Biden ticket. It consists of career politician Obama who was a senator when he ran for president in 2008, and Biden who has been a senator for 37 years  one of the longest-serving senators in U.S. history!</p><p><em>Julie Gooden</em></p><p><em>Hendersonville</em></p><h3>Deep contempt</h3>
<p>To the editor: Impoverished children getting lunch at school. Disabled veterans receiving pensions. Needy students getting federally subsidized loans to attend college. Seniors on Medicare. These are the freeloaders Mitt Romney wants to jettison so that millionaires like himself can pay even lower taxes!</p><p>Rob from the needy, give to the greedy! Ignore the young, forget the old! Give bigger tax breaks to millionaires and big oil companies, but take away the safety net for the poor. Since when is it OK to take food away from poor children and old people to give more tax breaks to the rich?</p><p>Romney claims he’s a Christian, but his words reveal his deep, shameful contempt for the disadvantaged.</p><p>The Romneys proudly publicize their charitable donations, yet their 2010 tax return shows not one thin dime for anything recognizable as helping the poor or disadvantaged! They claimed tax-deductible charitable donations of $1.5 million to Romney’s own charitable foundation, $100,000 to Friends of George W. Bush Library, $20,000 to U.S. Equestrian Foundation, and $10,000 to Harvard Business School.</p><p>A victory for Retroactive Romney and Paul Vouchercare Ryan will guarantee that school budgets suffer deeper cuts, Medicare gets dismantled, and Social Security is destroyed! Vote for President Barack Obama.</p><p><em>Linda Harney</em></p><p><em>Flat Rock</em></p><h3>Bear encounters</h3>
<p>To the editor: Encounters between bears and humans rarely have happy endings.</p><p>Nature is a balancing act of survival, whether plant or animal. For animals, from ants to whales, this means eat or be eaten. Until man intervenes, the balance mostly works (i.e., with enough bats, mosquitoes are not in control; towhees and brown thrashers in my yard seriously limit the ant population, making both bird and me happy).</p><p>Cherokee and black bears thrived in our area before they were run out to make room for white settlers. The ensuing spread of housing without regard to habitat brings trouble for both wildlife and humans. As people built in what was open field or woodland then landscaped with tasty ornamentals, they railed against the deer. Presumably the same goes for blueberry bushes and bears.</p><p>When well-meaning but naïve people  within city limits even  indiscriminately feed wildlife or leave filled birdfeeders that tantalize bears getting ready to den up, the stage is set for risk and misery. One recent morning, I was stunned to witness a black bear ambling barely 15 feet from my porch where a cat lay dozing. She was, no doubt, researching neighborhood feeders. I live four minutes from Fresh Market.</p><p><em>Charlotte Wolf</em></p><p><em>Hendersonville</em></p><h3>Key to success</h3>
<p>To the editor: Hayden Rogers is a strong proponent of public education and has been endorsed by the N.C. Association of Education. He is the product of North Carolina public schools. He paid his way through college with the help of federal student aid.</p><p>Hayden knows the key to success in America is a high-quality education. Hayden supports local control of education but believes we must have federal standards to ensure that all students have the same opportunity to obtain a high-quality education.</p><p>Hayden’s opponent, Mark Meadows, believes we must eliminate the U.S. Department of Education. He said in a forum that he made the conscious and costly decision to keep his children out of public-funded schools because he did not want to rely on the government or allow it to influence his child’s education.</p><p>Mark’s focus is on home schooling and charter schools. While these might be options for some families, most families in Western North Carolina rely on public schools. We need an education system that benefits all children, not just a privileged few.</p><p>We need leaders who will fight for our public education system and our teachers!</p><p><em>Sandra Cook</em></p><p><em>Fletcher</em></p>